Wednesday, August 25, 2010

If you've been reading this blog for the last couple of months or if you follow me on Twitter then you know that this was my last year in Japan. I came home to Ohio two weeks ago and as of now I have no immediate plans to return to the land of crazy Kit Kat flavors.

I am both sad and happy about this. I'm sad because I loved my inaka town, my Japanese friends, and hunting for new Kit Kats. I'm happy to be home because I missed my parents, my adorable nephew, and my American friends. But besides general homesickness I had a really good reason to come home and that is because both of my sisters are pregnant! This winter I will have a new niece and a new nephew.

Blah, blah, blah, who cares about babies right? What about the chocolate? you're asking. Well don't worry just because I can't scour the shelves of my local conbini for Kit Kats doesn't mean I can't keep up this blog. I hope to keep the Kit Kat love alive by ordering them online. That does mean that I probably won't be updating quite as often as I have in the past but keep your eyes peeled because there will be new reviews.

Until then let me know what Kit Kats you are trying and what you think of them!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Back in May I hosted a contest where if you commented you had the chance to win some of the Kit Kats featured on the blog. In June Kate won the contest and sometime in July I finally got my act together and sent her the chocolate.

It didn't take her nearly as long to eat them as it took me to mail them and she kindly emailed me her thoughts. With permission I am posting her reviews here. Enjoy!

I was a little scared of this one. Like you I always associated aloe with either a funny looking houseplant or a sticky green gel you rub on sunburns. Either way, I'd never been tempted to snack on it. The KitKat wasn't bad though. Mostly I just tasted the white chocolate, which I really like, and a hint of something that reminded me a little bit of raw cucumber. A little odd, but tasty in it's own way. Don't think I'll be ordering more of these or rushing out to munch on an aloe plant though.

This was probably my least favorite. The first thing I smelled was fake banana flavor, which is something I've never liked. There wasn't as much banana flavor as I expected given the smell, but all I could really taste was sweetness with a hint of banana aftertaste.

I have no idea what actual Calpis tastes like, but the KitKat version gave me flashbacks to snack time at Bible School. And every other church activity I went to as a little kid, for that matter. They tasted exactly like the vanilla sandwich cookies that seemed to be a staple of church kiddie snacks, along with red Kool-Aid and M&Ms. Much as I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, I don't think I'll jump at the chance to try Calpis. A couple bites of candy was good, but an entire drink with that flavor would just be too much.

I love white chocolate. I love strawberries. It didn't take much for me to figure out I was going to love this KitKat. And I did :) Even the little bit of tartness just made it interesting and kept me from feeling like I was eating straight sugar.

I agree with your take on this one. It tastes a lot like a UDF orange freeze (my mom's from Cincinnati, so I know my Ohio treats). Very tasty :). Of course, if they're going to make orange KitKats, there should definitely be a mimosa flavor.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

New Kit Kats have been thin on the ground recently so I was pretty excited to find this Salt and Caramel Kit Kat at the train station Sunkus. I reviewed the Salt and Caramel Kit Kat Bites previously, giving it the high score of a 9, so I expected that I wouldn't be disappointed with this latest incarnation.

Except that I kind of was. My first problem was that I put it in the refrigerator to keep it from melting in the ridiculous heat we've been having here in Japan so the milk chocolate that normally melts in my mouth did not. I think next time I will let it get a little melty before I try eating it. The other thing, something I am coming to realize after eating a LOT of Kit Kats, is that the Kit Kat Bar and the Kit Kat Little are two different animals. Just because you have the same flavor in both forms does not mean that it tastes the same. With a Kit Kat Bar the flavor is more diffuse while the Kit Kat Little has a very concentrated flavor. This bar had the same great salty caramel taste to it but the coldness of the bar (my fault) combined with a less concentrated flavor led to a less enthusiastic thumbs up from me.

I liked it, don't get me wrong, but my anticipation did not match up with the eventual outcome. Just like I preferred the Strawberry Kit Kat Little I also prefer the Salt and Caramel Kit Kat Bites. But alas, you can't get the bites anymore so you have to take what you can get which is this pretty delicious bar. Just don't eat it all in one go if you are on a diet or used to eating the minis - it has 234 calories of salty caramel goodness.

About Me

Why Kit Kats?

Because they have all kinds of crazy flavors in Japan, that's why. From Japanese Green Tea flavored ones to Rose, Peach, and Apple Vinegar, there is a cornucopia of Kit Kat flavors to try here. And I'm going to try as many as I can.

If you're also searching for Kits Kats high and wide, read my post Where to Find Kit Kats for tips on where to shop online and in Japan.